MONTAGUE — U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern has filed a $675,000 federal earmark request for streetscape improvements on Avenue A, as announced by Town Administrator Steve Ellis this week.While not a guarantee for funding, the earmark is considered by Ellis to be a vital step toward the town’s ongoing Avenue...

MONTAGUE — In the wake of Dr. Patricia Iverson’s retirement earlier this month, the Health Department is seeking a new medical director so that the town may continue to administer vaccines.Health Director Daniel Wasiuk recounted that around two weeks ago, Iverson informed Town Nurse Cheryl Volpe tha...

MONTAGUE — New England Wound Care Medical Director Sohail Waien has withdrawn plans to develop the former Cumberland Farms property at 38 Avenue A, Town Administrator Steve Ellis announced this week.The property, owned by the Montague Economic Development and Industrial Corporation (MEDIC), would ha...

UMass equity film series finale to be held in Turners Falls TURNERS FALLS — The University of Massachusetts Amherst-based Western Massachusetts Health Equity Network is closing out its “MOSAIC” racism and community health film series on Wednesday, May 18, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. with a multimedia exh...

MONTAGUE — A four-candidate Board of Health race highlights an otherwise uncontested ballot for Tuesday’s town election.The four candidates looking to serve on the Board of Health are competing for a three-year seat currently held by Chair Al Cummings, who decided not to seek re-election. Other unco...

MONTAGUE — The state will distribute $61,272 to Montague from 2022 through 2038 as part of a $26 billion settlement with opioid distributors and manufacturers, Town Administrator Steve Ellis told the Selectboard on Monday.The money, Ellis wrote in an email to Selectboard Clerk Matt Lord, is “not muc...

MONTAGUE — A public notice from the Health Department has been recalled following concerns that it illegally endorsed a Board of Health candidate, Town Clerk Deb Bourbeau said at Monday’s Selectboard meeting.The notice, which was sent as a press release to the Montague Reporter newspaper and was int...

MONTAGUE — The town is considering the feasibility of building a sludge composting facility as sludge hauling becomes increasingly inconvenient and expensive, with Sandy Lane being targeted as the most ideal location.Montague is currently faced with having to haul sludge, or “solid material that can...

MONTAGUE — Residents approved every article on the Annual Town Meeting warrant on Saturday, giving the town the go-ahead to hire an assistant town administrator, implement Smart Growth Overlay Districts and add a demolition delay bylaw.The meeting, which started an hour late because of a lack of quo...

MONTAGUE — The Selectboard has approved Town Planner Walter Ramsey’s proposal to apply for $80,000 through the Municipal Vulnerabilities Preparedness (MVP) Action Grant Program to put toward “incorporating climate resiliency into the Montague Comprehensive Plan.”Montague is in the process of rewriti...

MONTAGUE — The addition of an assistant town administrator, implementation of Smart Growth Overlay Districts and adoption of a demolition delay bylaw highlight a hefty 36-item warrant set to come before Annual Town Meeting voters on Saturday.The meeting will convene at 8:30 a.m. in the auditorium at...

MONTAGUE — Parks and Recreation Director Jon Dobosz held a public information session last week regarding the Montague Center Park Improvement Project, which would see major park renovations completed by 2024.The meeting, held at the Montague Center Fire Station, consisted of Dobosz summarizing the...

MONTAGUE — The Selectboard is considering implementing COVID-19-related precautionary measures for the May 7 indoor Annual Town Meeting amid a recent uptick in positive cases.Discussion among board members last week followed Health Director Daniel Wasiuk’s presentation of Montague’s two-week rolling...

MONTAGUE CENTER — Cutting through a mishmash of music-making and conversation, May Day organizer Rose Sheehan commanded silence from dozens of festival attendees with a pep talk as they gathered in front of the Post Office Sunday morning.“Some of us might be feeling a little rusty. Some of us might...

MONTAGUE — State Rep. Natalie Blais and state Sen. Jo Comerford released a statement Thursday expressing disappointment over Trinity Health of New England’s handling of Farren Care Center-related communication.Earlier this month, the Farren’s parent company relayed to Montague confirmation of its pl...

MONTAGUE CENTER — While the pandemic and the loss of community members scored small victories against the village’s decades-old May Day tradition over the past few years, the celebration will make its long-awaited return on Sunday.Put on hold throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Montague Center’s annua...

NORTHAMPTON — The Young@Heart Chorus, which was slated this weekend to give its first live performance in over two years, has been forced to postpone the show until June 9 after two of the elderly singers tested positive for COVID last weekend.The group, after being forced to rehearse and perform mo...